Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday Russia carried out a "massive attack" on Ukraine overnight, following reported strikes on critical infrastructure across the country. Several regions also reported strikes on energy facilities, while missiles were shot down in others. Read about the day's developments as they unfolded on FRANCE 24's liveblog. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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3:20pm: Zelensky says Russia launched 36 rockets in 'massive attack' on Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday Russia carried out a "massive attack" on Ukraine overnight, following reported strikes on energy infrastructure that resulted in power outages across the country.
"The aggressor continues to terrorise our country. At night, the enemy launched a massive attack: 36 rockets, most of which were shot down ... These are vile strikes on critical objects. Typical tactics of terrorists," Zelensky said on social media.
3:14pm: Over a million Ukraine households without power after Russian strikes, says presidency
More than a million households in Ukraine were left without electricity following Russian strikes on energy facilities across the country, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidency said Saturday.
"As of now, 672,000 subscribers have been disconnected in Khmelnytskyi region, 188,400 in Mykolaiv region, 102,000 in Volyn region, 242,000 in Cherkasy region, 174,790 in Rivne region, 61,913 in Kirovograd region and 10,500 in Odessa region," Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on social media.
FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg tells us more.
2:10pm: Pro-Russian authorities urge Kherson residents to 'immediately' leave city
Pro-Russian authorities in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, which Moscow claims to have annexed, on Saturday urged residents of the region's eponymous main city to leave "immediately" in the face of Kyiv's advancing counter-offensive.
"Due to the tense situation on the front, the increased danger of mass shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the left bank of the Dnieper river," the region's pro-Russian authorities said on social media.
1:46pm: Two killed in strikes on Russian region near Ukraine border, says governor
Two civilians were killed following strikes on Russia's southern Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Saturday.
"There are two dead among civilians," Gladkov said on social media following shelling on "civilian infrastructure" in the town of Shebekino, where nearly 15,000 people were left without electricity.
1:42pm: Western Ukraine 'particularly badly affected'
"It looks as though the west of the country has been particularly badly affected [by Russian missile strikes]; this morning the electricity distribution company Ukrenergo said that the effect of this morning's attacks in western Ukraine could actually be even worse than those of the 10th and 11th of October, when this sustained campaign of targeting Ukraine's electricity infreastructure by the Russians started," FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reported from Kyiv. "What they're targeting is mostly electricity distribution stations and that means that there are power cuts in many western regions."
1:17pm: Russia says it repelled attempted Ukrainian attacks in east and south
Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces had repelled attempted Ukrainian offensives in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and the southern region of Kherson.
It said Russian forces had prevented an attempt by Ukraine to break through its line of defence in Kherson region by the settlements of Piatykhatky, Suhanove, Sablukivka and Bezvodne. Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.
1:14pm: Iran warns West over 'provocative' Ukraine drone claims
Tehran on Saturday warned European countries against "provocative approaches", after they urged a UN probe into Iranian drones the West says Russia is using in Ukraine.
In a letter to the United Nations a day earlier, France, Britain and Germany called for an "impartial" investigation into the matter, after the EU and Britain slapped new sanctions on Tehran this week.
Iran has denied supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine, and Moscow has accused the West of seeking to put "pressure" on Tehran with the allegations.
"The Islamic republic of Iran considers the current provocative approaches of the European Union and the United Kingdom to be part of a targeted political scenario," foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said in a statement.
10:04am: Ukrainian infrastructure pounded again
Critical infrastructure across Ukraine was pounded again on Saturday, with several regions reporting strikes on energy facilities while missiles were shot down in others.
Energy facilities in the regions of Odesa, Kirovohrad and Lutsk had been hit, according to local officials, while other regions reported problems with electricity.
"Another rocket attack from terrorists who are fighting against civilian infrastructure and people," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on the Telegram app.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian missile over the Kyiv region, local police chief Andriy Nyebytov said, posting a photograph of a column of smoke rising from a forest where he said the missile's debris had landed.
7:11am: Russian nuke use would be 'act of hostility against humanity'
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned Saturday that Russia using nuclear weapons would be seen as an "act of hostility against humanity", describing President Vladimir Putin's sabre rattling as "deeply disturbing".
"Russia's act of threatening the use of nuclear weapons is a serious threat to the peace and security of the international community and absolutely unacceptable," said Kishida, who leads the only country ever hit with a nuclear bomb.
In May next year, Kishida is expected to host leaders from the G7 countries in Hiroshima, where a US nuclear bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, resulting in the deaths of 140,000 people.
2:06am: European countries urge UN probe of Iran drones in Ukraine
France, Britain and Germany called Friday in a letter to the United Nations for an "impartial" investigation into Iranian drones the West says Russia is using in the war in Ukraine.
"We would welcome an investigation by the UN Secretariat team responsible for monitoring the implementation of UNSCR 2231," the UN ambassadors of the three countries wrote.
UN Security Council Resolution 2231 endorsed the international agreement that provided for sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program – a deal that was later scrapped by then-US president Donald Trump.
In their letter, which was addressed to the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the ambassadors said they would "stand ready to support the work of the Secretariat in conducting its technical and impartial investigation."
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
